Cover feed for wrapping or packing machines



Oct. 21, 1952 c. T. HALL 2,614,374

COVER FEED FOR WRAPPING OR PACKING MACHINES Filed Jan. 50, 1950 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 INVENTOI? Oct. 21, 1952 g. T. HALL COVER FEED FOR WRAPPING OR PACKING MACHINES 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed Jan. 30, 1950 YVE/VTOR 31 006, Mildafim RNEYS provided wherein the control means comprises an endless Patented Oct. 21, 1952 oovEaEEEn FOR-WRAPPING: on. momma MACHINES Y Charl'esThomas- Hall; Deptford; London, England,

assignor to Molins Machine Company Eiimi't'ed, London, England, a British. company- Application January 30, 1950,. Serial No. 141,314 In Great Britain February 9,, 1949 1: Claim;

This invention concerns improvements in or relating to wrapping or packing machines and, refers more particularly to apparatus of the kind described and claimed in United States Patent No.2,107,482. g

The apparatus forming the subject of said patent is arranged: to feed into the path of an article to be wrapped, a wrapper composed ofat least two lengths of. wrapping material which lengths overlap to form a composite wrapper for eacharticle, and has means to fold the composite' wrapper into a U about the article with one limb of the U constituted by one of the lengths of wrapping material which length also constitutes part of the other limb' of the U whilst another length or other lengths of wrapping material form the remaining part of the said other limb of the U, and thereafter to complete the folding of the Wrapper about the article.

As explained in detail in said prior patent, it

is necessary that the leading length or strip of wrapping material should have an unimpeded path while moving across the path of the article but to prevent relative displacement of the strips they are engaged by other feeding means or control means at about the time the overlapping parts of the strip are passing and therefore in order to maintain the relative positions of the parts of the wrapper while the wrapper is being folded about the article, the apparatus comprises control means consisting of two co-operating moving bands one of which is guided and driven by rollers mounted on fixed axes while the rollers of the other band are supported on a carriage which is movable by cam and spring mechanism so that the band moves into and out of its operative position at the correct times. The carriage is necessarily fairly heavy and occupies considerable space and further it is desirable to limit the use of moving bands as much as possible so that they are only used where it is absolutely necessary. Apparatus for feeding strips in overlapping relationship having control means for engaging the overlapping parts of the strips in this manner will be termed apparatus of the kind referred to.

According to the present invention there is apparatus of the kind referred to band moving in a fixed path and a device comprising two or more rollers adapted to co-operate with said band at the necessary times the rollers being supported in a framework which is mechanically moved towards and away from the band to move the rollers into and out of the co -operating position.

In the case" of a cigarette wrapping machine two rollers are sufficient andthese are so spaced that they form a moving wrapper feeding device equivalent in performance to thecarriage-supported band of the-aforesaidpatent. p

In order that the pressure exerted on the mov'- ing band by'the rollers shall be as light'as possible, consistent with eflicient working of"the'ap-- paratus, the roller framework'is slidably attached to'the' mechanism for moving it with a 'spring in; terpos'ed'between the parts.

One way of carrying the invention into effect will be described with referenceftothe accord Figure 1 is a side elevation of the fragmented. a cigarette-packing machine showing the invention.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of part of Figure 1 and partly in section on the line IIII.

Referring to the drawing, I is the bed of the machine along which pushers 2 on an endless conveyor 3 travel and carry batches of cigarettes 4 through wrap-ping devices, not shown.

The cigarettes travel between guides 5 and beneath a top plate 6 and meet a pivoted leveller late I, Figure l, which aligns their leading ends just before they meet the wrappingmaterial. This material 8, is fed from a reel,.not shown, by rollers 9 and I0 and through a fixed guide II and a fixed knife l2 beneath which two moving knives (one marked I 3 being indicated) pass in succession and cut the material to form a long leading strip and a short following strip. The

neighbouring edges of the strips are overlapped by increasing the speed of the rollers 9 and I0 after the leading strip has been cut as explained in the aforesaid specification. The material passes down through a slot l4 in the bed and the cigarettes are pressed against it to fold it to a U shape about the batch in the well-known manner, and as the first step in the folding operations. At one side of the wrapper is a, fixed frame l5 carrying rollers It on which an endless band I] runs in the direction of the arrow. At the other side of the wrapper, two rollers !8 are journalled in a frame or bracket consisting of two side plates [9 joined by an end plate 2!}. The end plate is connected by four studs or the like 2| to another plate 22 parallel to it but spaced slightly from the end plate 20. The framework is movable on the studs towards and away from said other plate and a spring 23 is provided to urge the two members apart to a distance limited by shoulders on the studs. The plate 22 has two side members or arms 24 extending from it as shown, so that the several parts constitute a forked bracket. The arms are provided with holes through which a pin 25 passes which is fixed to an arm 26 of a double-armed lever pivoted at 21 in a fixed position on the bed of the machine. The other arm 28 of said lever has a roller 29 at its ends which engages with a cam 30 under the influence of a spring 3|.

A stirrup 32 is fixed to the forked bracket by being secured to the upper faces of the arms 24 and a roller 33 is fixed to each downwardly depending member of said stirrup. These rollers run on horizontal tracks which are conveniently the forward parts of the upper edges of the guides 5 along which batches of cigarettes are fed towards the wrapping material.

The cam 30 rotates in time relationship with the feeding rollers 9 and I and cutting knives of the apparatus so that the roller frame is moved to bring the rollers into engagement with the wrapping material at the necessary intervals. As the frame is of small and light construction it can be operated at a high speed and the spring 23 between the frame and the forked bracket ensures that the pressure of the rollers against the wrapping material is light enough to prevent the band (which is usually made of fabric) from marking the material.

' The rollers protrude through holes in a guide plate 34 fixed to the roller frame and presenting a vertical face parallel to the wrapping material the lower end of the guide being bent to provide a concave operative face which directs the material into its proper path as it is wrapped around a batch of cigarettes. 1

The pin 25 couples the forked bracket to the double-armed lever passes through a slot 35 in 4 the latter so that it may be adjusted relatively thereto and locked in position when the adjustment is complete.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

In apparatus for feeding separate sections of wrapping material in overlapping relation so as to prevent relative displacement of the overlapped sections during feeding, the combinationwith an endless band moving in a fixed path, and means driving said band, of a reciprocable carriage, a plurality of idler rollers mounted on said carriage, mechanism for reciprocating said carriage toward and away from said band to effect intermittent engagement between said rollers and said band, whereby overlapped wrapper sections fed between said rollers and said band may be periodically engaged and fed by said band, and yielding means interposed and acting between said rollers and said carriage for applying light pressure between said rollers and band during engagement thereof.

CHARLES THOMAS HALL.

REFERENCES CITED Thefollowing references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,761,771 Brownell June 3, 1930 1,920,388 Harrold Aug. 1, 1933 2,107,482 Kemp Feb. 8, 1938 2,138,728 Chambers Nov. 29, 1938 2,350,244 Malhoit May 30, 1944 

